The sweet ladies over at Sew, Mama, Sew asked me if I would do a tutorial for a summer beach and picnic blanket.  Of course I said yes!  I was completely flattered to be asked and had so much fun coming up with a simple, but fun summer quilt.

I've added a link in the sidebar that will take you right to the tutorial.  Or you can click here.  And of course, while you are there, you should check out all the other wonderful tutorials and project ideas they have.  Their blog is a fabulous resource for many how-to's and Sew, Mama, Sew's webstore is filled with cute fabric and patterns, too!

If you make one of these blankets using the tutorial, let me know.  I would love to see yours!

Have a great day!

The girls and I just came home from meeting our new nephew and cousin.  The little guy is so sweet - it was great to finally see him and hold him.

This morning I whipped up some cuteness for the new baby.  I made him some burp cloths like the ones I did for Declan and Augie.  I also got out my embroidery machine and put his name on some onesies and a hat.  Sweet things for a sweet babe.

And in case you were counting, that is 7 nephews and 0 nieces.  Lucky me!

We are home!  And just like every time we get back, there are bags to unpack and laundry to do.  But I haven't even started that.

Instead I started a quilt.

Happy Monday!

We head home tomorrow.

Sigh.

It seems like we just got here in some ways.  In other ways, I feel like I have been away from home for months.

Have a great weekend.  I'll be back in this space sometime next week.

The night before we left home for Telluride, I found myself all packed with time to spare.  Can you believe it?  Good ol' procrastinating me with time to spare!  That was definitely a first.  What's a girl to do?  Sew, of course.

I decided it was high time that I make myself some wide-leg lounge pants from Amy Butler's In Stitches.  So many crafty bloggers have made them and they all love them, so I thought why not?  I wish I had some wonderful vintage sheet to use, but I didn't.  It doesn't matter - I love them anyhow!

The wide leg part is just that:  wide.  At first I thought they were maybe a bit too wide, but the more I wear them, the more I love them.  I will definitely make these again.  Not only are they super comfy, they were fast to make.  It took me 2 hours to make these from the time I started tracing the pattern to pulling the drawstring through the casing.  I did use my serger for all the seams I could which probably sped it up a bit.  Now that I have the pattern ready to go, I imagine the next pair will come together even faster.

I love vacation.  And lounging.  Lounging on vacation?  Bliss.

For my end of the swap with Lisa, I made her a tote bag.

I used Anna Maria Horner's Drawing Room fabric and some brown linen from the stash.   The inside is lined in a pale pink linen and has a pocket, too.

I love adding personalized details to the gifts I make so I embroidered Lisa's initials on the pocket and trimmed it with some ribbon I had on hand.  I think the ribbon came from Blair.  (Am I right, Blair?).  The tote is about the same size as the wool patchwork one I made for myself.

OK - that's all I have for this Tuesday.  Fatty's gone home, my parents are off to meet the newest family member who is being born today and the girls are at day camp.  I think I will knit - and maybe take a nap.  Sounds like a plan.

Awhile back, Lisa Leonard asked if I wanted to have a little swap.  If you have seen her jewelry, you can understand why I did not hesitate one bit.  The hardest part was choosing what I wanted!

I decided on the open circle necklace with my initials on it.  And it is perfect.  Simple and elegant - it is just as great with a t-shirt and a skirt as it is with a pretty summer dress.  The preppy me loves the single pearl and the monogram.  I adore it.  I am sure that I will buy more of Lisa's jewelry  - for myself and for gifts.  She has so many beautiful baubles to choose from!

Thanks, Lisa!  I am so happy we swapped.  Back tomorrow with details on what I sent.

Awhile back, I was asked to write an article for Stampington's magazine, Somerset Life.

It's been out there for awhile now - the issue hit newsstands on July 1st.  In the article, I talk about my experiences blogging.  Actually, now that I think about it, it's kind of funny to be blogging about an article about blogging.

So there you go.  I was flattered to be asked to do this - the magazine is so beautiful.  It was also a good challenge for me, too.  I'm not the most comfortable writer, but now that I've had time to read it over about 10 gazillion times, I feel pretty good about it.  And seeing my own photos in print is the icing on the cake.  That is pretty cool.

Enjoy your weekend, everyone.